Zero Emissions Mobility and Community Pilot Project Fund

As part of the ongoing work of the Transportation Electrification Partnership, and LACI’s efforts to bring the benefits of the green economy to disadvantaged communities (DAC), LACI is launching four zero emissions mobility pilots within the City of Los Angeles and County of Los Angeles.

Thank you to everyone that submitted an application. The four selected communities are Pacoima, San Pedro, Long Beach, and Huntington Park. Stay in touch – subscribe to our newsletter!

Why the Zero Emissions Mobility and Community Pilot Project Fund?

Zero emission mobility pilot projects and demonstrations will help bring the benefits of the green economy to neighborhoods who often lack the solutions required for emissions-free mobility, yet are burdened with poor air quality from various sources. The path to a zero emissions future includes addressing community needs as well as key technology, business model and educational challenges. Pilot projects will be deployed with and within selected disadvantaged communities. Lessons from these projects will be shared and used to inform new projects and policy recommendations.

Transportation Electrification Partnership

In California and greater Los Angeles, the transportation and goods movement sectors are the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions and local air pollution. That’s why the Transportation Electrification Partnership (TEP) was created to accelerate progress to a zero emissions future and cultivate an unprecedented collaboration with local government, key regulators, utilities, industry and others to reduce GHG emissions and improve regional air quality. The Zero Emissions Mobility and Community Pilot Project Fund is part of LACI’s Transportation Electrification Partnership and represents the on-the-ground, community impact of this important work.

Long Beach

In partnership with the Conservation Corps of Long Beach and LACI portfolio company, URB-E, LACI launched a zero emissions e-cargo bike pilot.

URB-E bikes are electric bikes with trailers attached, and at-risk young people in the Conservation Corps workforce development program use the vehicles and trailers to restore and rebuild parts of the lower Los Angeles River in Long Beach.

The pilot program aims to address three issues:

Air Quality. As an alternative to diesel-powered utility-terrain vehicles (UTVs), the e-bikes’ with cargo capacity will reduce GHG and criteria air pollutants. The pilot measures the distance traveled each day to quantify the amount of GHG emissions offset by using zero emissions transportation. The e-bikes are charged every evening by an off-grid solar PV and battery system.

The feasibility of offgrid charging. The URB-E bikes are charged in a recycled shipping container outfitted with rooftop solar and battery storage, proving that the charging hub can be modular infrastructure. Finding ways to more sustainably and more cost-effectively charge micro-mobility devices, whether e-bikes or scooters, is a focus of nearly every player and investor in the micro-mobility space.

Workforce development. The at-risk youth are encouraged to pursue green jobs and they will work with LACI and the Conservation Corps of Long Beach on training and green job opportunities.

Pacoima

The city of Pacoima is a predominantly working class community with high levels of underemployment that is challenged by the lack of accessible transportation options that connect to job centers in the Central City.

Pacoima Beautiful, a local environmental justice nonprofit, is working with LACI to launch community-facing, on-demand shared electric vehicles (EVs) with LACI’s portfolio company Envoy. The technology will address accessibility to EVs and affordable options to vehicles ownership. The EV car share will serve the greater Pacoima community while being housed at the HACLA San Fernando Complex Community Center, a central Pacoima location easily accessed by bus service.

The EV car share program is designed to be sustainable via cost – revenue share between Envoy and the community partner as well as leveraging new Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) credit pathways that will feed in additional funding to cover continued program costs and member incentives.

Expected launch early Summer 2020.

San Pedro

Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA)is building an EV car share pilot with LACI’s portfolio company, Envoy, on the Rancho San Pedro property. The geographic location of Rancho San Pedro’s 21-acre site makes it difficult for internal traffic circulation and for residents to connect to the City of Los Angeles and neighboring communities. Families are more reliant on personal vehicles to get to destinations since public transit is not as frequent or convenient. However, the community has already culturally accepted concepts of carpooling and car-sharing informally.

The EV car share pilot has three key design components to address specific community use cases and develop a replicable and sustainable program model:

Dynamic EV membership rate plans to identify market price points,

Alternative payment options for the unbanked population,

Rancho San Pedro Community Coaches will be trained as Program Ambassadors to conduct outreach, education, and membership enrollment.

The goal of the pilot is to encourage modeshift with residents replacing their vehicle with the EV car share or avoiding a new car purchase.

Expected launch early Summer 2020.

Huntington Park

LACI’s corporate partner, Southern California Edison, alongside Huntington Park-based Communities for a Better Environment will use a novel construction and interconnection process for EV charger deploymentby using pre-existing infrastructure.By providing EV chargers with a streamlined construction/permitting phase and technology that works for the community (via co-benefits such as tourism, wayfinding in city center, etc.), a model is created that can be replicated and will accelerate the expansion of curbside EV chargers in disadvantaged communities.

The EV chargers will be installed in two to three locations where existing utility infrastructure is sufficient to support fast charging without electrical upgrades. Focus will be on locations that will serve multifamily affordable housing complexes where providing public charging at above L2 levels is a community benefit and can spur EV adoption.

Due to COVID-19 impacts, the launch is delayed until late 2020.

FUNDING AMOUNT AND SOURCES:

Funding is made possible by a grant to LACI from the California Workforce Development Board along with the Transportation Electrification Partnership. As part of this grant, LACI will be able to dedicate more than $400,000 for zero emission mobility pilots (hardware, software, permits, signage, etc.) in the selected communities in Los Angeles County. In addition, LACI’s corporate partners will provide in-kind donations of goods or services.

About LACI

The Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI), a private nonprofit organization, is creating an inclusive green economy by unlocking innovation (working with startups to accelerate the commercialization of clean technologies), transforming markets (through partnerships in transportation, energy and sustainable cities) and enhancing communities (through workforce development, pilots and other programs). Founded as an economic development initiative by the City of Los Angeles and its Department of Water & Power (LADWP), LACI is recognized as one of the most innovative business incubators in the world by UBI. In the past seven years, LACI has helped 78 portfolio companies raise $221M in funding, $220M in revenue, create 1,750 jobs, and deliver more than $393M in long term economic value. Learn more at laci.org